The majority of dentists operate within private practices.
Dental clinics provide patients with preventive and standard dental care, including emergency dental care. Services include teeth cleanings, teeth whitenings, x-rays, root canals, crowns, fillings and orthodontics. Multiple types of dental practices exist, each of which caters to a different type of community, including the privately insured, the publicly insured and the uninsured.
Private Practices
According to the American Dental Association, nearly all dentists are in private practice. Specifically, it is estimated as many as three out of four dentists are solo practitioners. Private practitioners work as licensed, self-employed dentists. Because of the relatively small size of the organization, patients usually get more personalized care from private practitioners. Because there is no administrative structure, solo practitioners must oversee administrative tasks for the practice, including bookkeeping and procurement.
Hospital Dental Clinics
A hospital dental clinic operates as a division of a hospital group. Its dentists work directly for the hospital. These dental clinics usually are on hospital grounds or in annexed buildings near the hospital. For example, the Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, operates the Children's Hospital Dental Center. The center provides pediatric dentistry services as well as a residency program for dentists in training.
Community Health Centers
Community health centers frequently provide dental services in addition to general health care services. These types of clinics serve a particular community or population and combine the efforts of hospitals, the government and the health care industry to provide its community members with adequate health care services. Often, such health centers receive federal funding to subsidize care for the poor and uninsured.
Group Practices
Unlike private practices in which one dentist operates a clinic by himself, a group practice is an association of dental professionals. These professionals work together, sharing space and using the same equipment. Although care might be less personal than private practice, the presence of more dentists allows the practice to treat more patients and pool resources to buy more equipment and hire more staff.
Tags: health care, care services, Children Hospital, dental care, Dental Clinics, health care services, Hospital Dental
